FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT JERRY NADEAU - PAGE 3

Bobby Labonte patiently stalked Rusty Wallace much like a cheetah stalks an antelope on the Serengeti. And when he struck, the outcome was just about as one-sided. Labonte chased Wallace for much of the Saturday afternoon's Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Clearly, they were the class of the field in the $5.9 million NASCAR race that was run before more than 320,000 fans and a national TV audience. When the time came to settle the issue, Labonte simply cut under Wallace entering turn 3 and punched it. There was some bumping before Labonte forged ahead for good with 15 laps left in the 160-lap event.

A year ago, when Kurt Busch slipped in here and stole his first Winston Cup win, the overriding question was, "Who's he?" There was none of that Sunday, when Busch repeated at Bristol Motor Speedway. In two-plus seasons he has become one of NASCAR's most understated stars. His Food City 500 victory was the fifth of his career and moved him to second in points for the season. He has been first or second in seven of the 11 races since last fall at Martinsville. If not for two engine-related DNFs, Sunday and three runner-up finishes would have him No. 1 in points.

To Dan Marino, third-and-long in the final moments of an NFL playoff game is no sweat. Even if he's down four, out of timeouts, missing his leading receiver, deep in his own territory and throwing against the wind, he'll have a plan. But what of this scenario: a late-race caution Sunday will give Jerry Nadeau the lead if he stays out while everyone else pits. Gas is no problem, but can Nadeau and his worn tires still beat the teams that take fresh tires? In other words, should Nadeau pit or stay out and take his chances?

If memory serves, the Miami Dolphins kicked butt in the 1972 season. They won 14 consecutive regular-season games, two playoff games and the Super Bowl. If memory also serves, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle didn't decide at midseason that Miami should get only four points for a touchdown. And how about the UCLA basketball teams that won 10 championships in 12 years? I don't recall the NCAA telling the Bruins they had to shoot their free throws from half-court. And I don't think the NBA has told Phil Jackson to bench Michael Jordan for the third quarter and final two minutes of each game.

Jerry Nadeau lives these days with one word first and foremost in his mind. Slowly. "I'm getting back to the way I used to be," he says. Then, after an ever-so-slight pause, he adds, "Slowly." Later, during his visit to Richmond International Raceway: "It's taking time to get better," he says, "but I'm slowly getting there." And later still: "There's no timetable for coming back," he says. "Go-karts. Legends. Maybe a Late Model. Maybe a Winston Cup car for laps at Greenville-Pickens.

Here's to Arie Luyendyk, smart enough to know he shouldn't be running 230 mph in traffic a week from Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Wisely, he's grounded himself from trying to win his third Indianapolis 500. The 1990 and 1997 champion banged his head and hurt his neck and back in a recent crash. The neck and back injuries were minor, but not the bump on the head. "I noticed that I wasn't as coherent as I should be," he said at midweek. "I got in touch with (a doctor)

There was enough Army brass here Thursday morning to ... well, to plan a small invasion. The manifest included a three-star general, some colonels (light and otherwise), a couple of majors, and an enlisted man or two. Their mission: Reach those millions of NASCAR fans who might consider the Army a career or a first step toward making something of themselves. The service, through one of its recruiting commands at Fort Monroe in Hampton, officially came aboard as sponsor of driver Jerry Nadeau and crew chief Ryan Pemberton for most of the Winston Cup season.

Jerry Nadeau finally is coming to terms with the crash that changed his life. It has taken five years, but he has accepted that he'll never race again in the Sprint Cup Series. It hasn't been easy. Not for a guy whose life was racing. Not for a guy who raced for seven seasons at NASCAR's highest level, and who beat the immortal Dale Earnhardt to the checkered flag at Atlanta one autumn afternoon eight years ago. He'd love nothing better to race against the best Cup drivers in tonight's Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

They're young, already rich and pretty good at going fast and turning left. Get used to them, for it's a good bet they'll rule NASCAR stock car racing for the rest of this decade and deep into the next. The 20-something gang of can't-miss superstars includes Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman. Together, they won 16 poles, 17 races and almost $24 million last year and finished between third and 21st in the standings.

1 Number of drivers in the No. 6 Jack Roush-owned Ford since the 1987 Daytona 500. Mark Martin has carried that number for the last 494 races. 5 Number of drivers in the U.S. Army-backed No. 01 Pontiac this year: Jerry Nadeau, Jason Keller, Mike Wallace, Boris Said and Mike Skinner. 12 Number of foreign drivers ranked ahead American driver Jimmy Vasser in the current CART series standings. The top 12 features three Brazilians, Canadians and Mexicans, plus a Scot, a Spaniard and a Frenchman.